Fried food increases chances of prostate cancer

Washington: If you love French fries and gorge on fried chicken, you could be heading for trouble in the shape of aggressive prostate cancers, warns a new study.

Regular consumption of deep fries such as French fries, fried chicken and doughnuts is linked to aggressive versions of prostate cancers, says a research by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Previous studies have suggested that eating foods made with high-heat cooking methods, such as grilled meats, may increase prostate cancer risk, the journal The Prostate reports.Janet L. Stanford, co-director of the Hutchinson Center's Program in Prostate Cancer Research and colleagues found that men who reportedly ate such foods once a week were at a heightened risk of prostate cancer as compared to men who consumed them less than once a month, according to a Hutchinson statement.

"The link between prostate cancer and select deep-fried foods appeared to be limited to the highest level of consumption - defined in our study as more than once a week - which suggests that regular consumption of deep-fried foods confers particular risk for developing prostate cancer," Stanford said.

Possible mechanisms behind the increased cancer risk, Stanford hypothesises, include the fact that when oil is heated to temperatures suitable for deep frying, potentially carcinogenic compounds can form in the fried food. The study involved 1,549 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 1,492 men who did not have the cancer. Men who ate one or more of these foods at least weekly had an increased risk of prostate cancer that ranged from 30 to 37 percent.

Weekly consumption of these foods was also associated with a slightly greater risk of more aggressive prostate cancer.